How many stoves on 200 amps?

Hi there,

I have 200 amp service to a rental property with 3 units. Service is split at separate meters and then to separate panels. Based on the rating of the mains on the breaker boxes, each unit gets 60amps (actually, one says 100A, but the disconnect switch leading to it only has 60amp cartridge fuses in it).
Three units means we have three kitchens, each with a standard full-size electrical stove (40A double breaker). I want to make sure that if all tenants are using the range/oven and otherwise normal electrical load (lights, tv, etc) there won't be a problem with the available power...

I don't really understand amps...to me if everyone were running their oven and a few other items, we'd potentially exceed capacity. At the same time, houses used to be 60amps and might have had more total demand on that service than I do since this house has been split up electrically.

I am renovating, and could put in a gas stove in unit 3 to reduce electrical demand, but since itís a rental unit, I donít want to spend the ~$800 for the quoted job or the extra money on the gas stove. But itís an option Iím considering. Does anyone think I need to do this? I donít want the breakers constantly going when people come home and cook dinner ;-)

here's a quick breakdown of what each unit contains...i can provide a more detailed list if required, but i'm not at home right now...

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Is this in an exisitng building that you are renovating. If so how long has it run with this setup. If your not haveing any nusience tripping or not adding any big items I would not worry about it.

Lets say everyone is useing there stove at full tilt(very unlikely because ovens cycle on and off) and they are all pulling 40A(very doubtful). That is only 120A leaving you 80A of power for your light and plugs which is more then enough.

If you are worried about it I would either get an electrcian or find a load calculation online and do a demand load. They are based on the square footage of the unit and the items going into it.

Unit 3 has washer and dryer gas heat and water heater. What do 1 & 2 heat heat with and does 1 & 2 have a washer and dryer? What's the total square footage?

sorry, i should have been more clear. there's only 1 furnace/water tank for the house, so it supplies to all the units. however, it is wired to unit 3. neither other unit has a washer or dryer. there is no central air conditioning in any of the units.

unit 1 and 2 are both approximately 500 square feet ( 1br apt., each using 1 level of a ~2000 square foot home)

Is this in an exisitng building that you are renovating. If so how long has it run with this setup. If your not haveing any nusience tripping or not adding any big items I would not worry about it.

Lets say everyone is useing there stove at full tilt(very unlikely because ovens cycle on and off) and they are all pulling 40A(very doubtful). That is only 120A leaving you 80A of power for your light and plugs which is more then enough.

If you are worried about it I would either get an electrician or find a load calculation online and do a demand load. They are based on the square footage of the unit and the items going into it.

It is an existing structure, but since we gutted the house in renos, it is not operational right now and we haven't tested it since updating (got rid of the old stoves as they were nasty and don't have replacements yet). We bought the place with tenants. There were actually 4 stoves at the time, but only 3 would have been used, and 2 were the smaller variety stoves, so lower wattage i'm guessing. Tenants never mentioned anything about tripping breakers, and there was only 100A at the time service (but no washer/dryer/dishwashers).

We upgraded it to 200A--looking back we probably should have gone to 300A and 100A per unit, but were told 200A would be enough. I'm just trying to make sure it will be. If any one unit's stove is drawing its max 40A, there's only 20A left over for everyting else in the unit. Since all the walls are open right now, it is easy to put in the gas line, but expensive.